Improvement in combined planter and seeder



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. E. FRICKE.

Corn Planter.

Patented Aug. 30.1870.

W. B. FRIO'KB.

Corn Planter. No. 106,806.

" 2 Sheets- -Sheet 2.

Patented Aug. 30. 18 70.

new izdrc steel ctjfilire.

Letters Patent No. 106,806, dated August 30, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN COIWBINED PLANTER AND SEEDER.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thename.

Tool! whom it only concern Be it known that I,'W1LLIAM E. Fmoxn, ot'Mexico, in the county of Andrein and State of Missouri, have invented anew and useful Impro emcntin Com improved machine arranged as acorn-planter, taken through the line a: x, fig. 2. s

Figure 2, sheet 1, is an under-side view of the same. Figure 3, sheet2', is a rear view of the same, part being broken away to showtheconstrnction. 4

Figure 4, sheet 2, is an under-side view of the seeder attachment, partbeing broken away to show the construction.

Figure 5, sheet 2, is a vertical cross-section oi the same. i

lligure 6, sheet 2,'is a. detail top view of a portion of the bottom ofthe seed-box of the seeder.

Figure 7, sheet 2, is a detail side view of a part of the stirrer.

Figure 8, sheet 2, is a detail view oi" the inner end oi one of thedrive-wheel hubs.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to corn-planters, and to improvenients therein,wherebygthey are made more effective and convenient in operation thanthey have hitherto been.

A are the drive-wheels, which revolve upon the journals of the axle B,and which are made to carry the said axle with them in their revolution,by the spring pawls 0, attached to the inner ends of the hubs oisaidwheels, and which take hold of the teeth of the ratchet-wheels D,attached to the said ax e 13, said pawls passing in through themud-bands of said hubs, and the said ratchet-wheel being placed withinsaid mud-bands.

Tbeaxlo B revolves in bearings attached to the frame I'l, to the centerof the forward part of which the tongue 13 is attached. 1

G is the roar fian c, the forward odds of the sidebins of which arepivoted to the axle B, or to supports attached to the side bars of theframe E. r

H are the seed-hoppers,in'grooves in the bottom of which work the endsof the sliding bar I, which has holes formed in it, in such positionsthat, when the said bar is moved or slid in one direction, thc'saidholes may be brought directly over the holes in the bottoms of thehoppers H, and allow the corntqpnss through into the hole in the bottomof the hoppers.

The ends of the bar I, and the bottoms of theboppers H,are covered witha plate,J of rubber, or other suitable yielding material, having a holethrough it corresponding, in position, with the hole in the bottom ofthe hopper, and which is designed to. keep the kerncls from beinginjured by the movements of the sliding bar I. The bottoms of thehoppers H are made of such a thickness that the holes through them willcontain enough seed for a bill.-

In the lower parts of the bottoms of the hoppers H are placed slides, K,having holes formed through them, in such positions that, when the saidslides are moved in one direction, the holes in the said slidesK willcoincide with the slides in the bottoms of the hoppers H, and allow theseed to drop, into the conductor-spouts, by which it is conveyed to theground; and, when the said slides are moved, in the opposite direction,they will close the lower end of the holes through the bottoms oftheisnio hoppers.

The outer ends of the-slides K are pivoted to 'the lower ends of theshort levers L, which are pivoted to supports attached to the hoppers,and the upper ends of which are connected with the sliding bar l bymeans of short connecting-rods, M. By this con strnot-ion, as the bar Iis moving in one direction, the slides K will be moving in the oppositedirection, so

- that the upper and lower ends of the holes through the bottoms of thehoppers Hi can never be both n nco\'- cred at the same time. I

' The sliding bar I is drawn into and held in position to cover theupper ends of the holes in the bottoms of the hoppers H by a coiled, orequivalent spring, N, one end of which is attached to one end of saidhopper, and its other end is attached to the said sliding her, as shownin fig. 3.

The sliding bar I is operated to drop the corn by the lever O, the rearend of which is pivotedto the said sliding bar I.

The lever pnsses through a. wide slot in the longitudinal front bar ofthe frame G, in which slotit is pivoted by the pin P, which passesthrough the sald bar and lever, and to which the said lever is soattached, by a cross-pin or otherwise, that, while the said lever may befree to oscillate, it may be raised and lowered by and with the saidpin.

The forwardend of the lever O is beveled 0d, and has a shoulder formedupon it something like a halt arrow-head, shown in fig. 2,-so that, whenthe lcver 0 is raised, the pins, spurs, or teeth of the spurwhcel Q,attached to the axle B, will strike against the inclined end of thelever 0, and push it to one side, operating the sliding bar 1 to dropthe corn. As the teeth, spins, or pins of the wheel Q pass beyond theshoulder of the lever O, the sliding bar I is again drawn-back to itsplace by the spring N.

To the upper end or head of the pin P is pivoted the end of the shortarm R, the other end of which is formed solidly upon or is rigidlyattached to, the lever S, the lower end of which is pivoted to the frontcross-bur of the rear frame- G, and said lever passes through a longkeeper, attached to the rear cross-bar of the frame E, where it is heldin place by a spring, when adjusted to hold the lever 0 in gear or outof gear with the spur-wheel Q.

The upper end of the lever B extends up into such a position that it maybe conveniently reached and operated by the driver from his seat '1. lhedistance apart of the hills is regulated by the distance ahart of thepins or'spurs of the spur-wheel Q.

U is a wheel attached to the axle B, the face of whih'isdeeply'grooved,-an'd in said groove are secured, at equal distances apart, blocks,inclined upon one side, and straight upon the other These blocks mustbearranged to correspond with the arrangement of the spurs ot' thespur-wheel Q, and are designed to operate the lever V, the forward endor" which is provided with a central projection, to slide upon theblocks of the wheel U, and with side projections, which overlap thesides of the wheel .U, and keep the end of the lever in proper positionupon it. The lever V passes back through a slot in the forward cross-barof the rear frame G, and is pivoted to said bar.

To the under side of the rear end of the lever V is pivoted the upperend of the arm W, the lower end of which is rigidly attached to the.plate X.

lhe ends of the plate X are steadied and support-- ed, and the saidplate kept in line with the hoppers H, by the bars or rods Y, the rearends of which are pivoted to theends oi the said plate, and the forwardends of which are pivoted to the ibrward crossbar of the frame G, asshown in figs. 1, 2, and 3.

By this arrangement, as the seed is dropped to the grouhd, the plate Xis also loweredto the ground, and marks the ground between and in linewith the said hilis, to enable the driver to plant the corn in perfectcheck-row, Y

Z is a lever, the lower end of which rides upon the axle B, and isslotted, to receive a ratchet-wheel, A, attached to said axle B.

To the slotted lower end of the lever Z is attached a spring pawl, B thelower end of which rests upon the teeth of the ratchet-wheel A.

The lever Z passes up through a keeper attached to a bar of the frameis, and its upper end projects into such aposition that it may beconveniently reached and operated by the driver from his seat, so

that, when starting in at the side of the field, the I driver, byoperating the lever Z, can so adjust the I dropping apparatus that thehills will be in line with the hills previously planted.

G are the plows, by which the furrows are opened to receive the seed,and which are formed upon or attached to the lower ends of the standardsD, which are made hollow, to serve as comluctor-spouts for the seed, andthe upper ends of which are hinged, at their forward edges or sides, tothe bottoms of the hoppers H, or to the frame G.

The draft-strain upon the standards I) is sustained by the draft-chainsor jointed rods E, the forward ends of which are connected with thefront cross-bar of the frame G, and to which, at a little distance Iii'om their forward ends, are attached the rear ends of the rods orchains F, the forward ends of which are attached to the outer or treeends. of the arms G, to the other ends of which are rigidly attached tothe shaft Y The shaft H works in bearings attached to the frame E, andto it is rigidly attached the end of the lever I, which extends up intosuch a position that it may be conveniently reached and operated by themew 2 driver, with his foot, to raise the plows from the ground. I

The lever I is held in place, when adjusted, by the toothed bar or plateJ, attached to the frame E, as

shown in fig. 2.

To the roar cross-bar of the frame G, directly in the rear of thehoppers H, are pivoted the forward ends of the slotted arms K, to theslotted rear ends of which are pivoted the wheels L, which are madebroad, and the faces of which are grooved or concaved, so that, as themachine is drawn forward, the said wheels may press inward the sides ofthe furrows opened by the plows O, and thus cover the seed.

This machine may be easily adapted to operate as ments, and substitutingthe frame M, the rear part pivoted to the slot-ted rear ends of the arms0, the forward ends of which are pivoted to the rear crossbar of theframe M, near its ends.

To the rear part-of the frame M is attached the long seed-hopper P,which has a line of openings in its bottom, through which the seedescapes, and the sides of which are regulated by the small plates Q, adjustabl y secured in place by screws passing through slots in said platesQ, as shown'infigs. -5 and 6.

R is a narrow plate or bar, placed in a groove in the bottom of thehopper P, the edge of which, that runs'along the edges of thegauge-plates Q, is notched at distances apart equal to the distanceapart of the holes through the bottom of the hopper P, so that the saidopenings through the bottom of the hopper 1 may he closed and opened, atwill, by the longitudinal movement of the'bar R. v

To the under side of the bar R is attached a projection or pin, whichprojects through a short slot in the bottom of the hopper P, and to thelower end of which is attached one end of a short connectingrod, S, theother end of which is ver T. l

The rear end of the lever '13 is pivoted to the rear cross-bar of theframe M, and its forward partis bent upward, and projects into such aposition that it may be conveniently reached and operated, tolopeu and Iclose the discharge-orifices of the hopper P, hycthe driver, from hisseat.

U is a bar, extending longitudinally through the I hopper P, and'theends of which pass through and work in holes in the ends ofthe hopper P,in such positions that the said bar U may be a little above the bottomof the hopper P.

10 the under side of the bar U are attached small plates, u, in aninclined position, which, as the said bar is moved longitudinally, pushthe seed forward, so that it may drop through the holes in the bottom ofthe hopper P.

To one of the projecting ends of the bar U is pivoted one end of theshort lever V, which is pivoted to a support attached to the end of thehopper P, and to its other end is pivoted the end of the rod or bar W,which extends along the forward side of the hopper P, and its other end'is pivoted to the rear end of the ieverX'. The lever X is pivoted to theforward cross-bar of the frame M, and its forward end is beveled offupon-both sides, and has shoulders, formed upon both sides, as shown infig. 4, giving it somewhat the appearasee of an arrow-head.

To the axieii is rigidly attached a wheel, Y, the face of v which ismade broad, and is provided with two rows of pins, arranged alternately,so that, as the machine is drawn forward, the said pins may strikealternately against the inclined-end of the lever X, and thus operatethe stirrer-bar U.

To the bottom of the hopper P, over each discharge-hole, is attached theupper end of a canvas or other flexible tube, Z, the other ends of whichare a-sceder by removing the frame G and its attach-v of which issupported by the wheels N, which are attached-to the h inserted in'theupper ends of the hollow standards A, which are hinged to the bottom ofthe hopper P, and to the lower ends of which are attached, or upon themare formed, the plows B, that open the ground to reczive the seed.

The draft-strain upon the standards A is sustained by the draft-rods O,the lower ends of which are pivoted to the lower parts of saidstandardsA and their forward ends are attached to the lower edge of the bar orplate I)*, which is hung at its upper edge from the forward part of theframe M. I

To the plate or bar D are attached the rear ends of the rods 1hereinbefin'e described, so that the driver, by operating the lever Zwith his foot, can raise the plow-stamlards and plows A B from'theground, at will.

Having thus described my invention,

I-claim as new and desire to secure by I otters PutGDt- 1. Thecombination of the wheels A, pawls 0,

ratchet-wheels D, axle B, frame I), spur-wheel Q, lever 0, frame G, barI, hoppers II, slides K, lever L, spring N, and grooved wheels L,slotted arms K with each other, substantially as herein shown anddescribed, and for the purpose set forth. 1

3. The combination of thehinged hollow plow standards 1), draft-rods orchains E, rods F, rigid arms (l', shaft II, and foot-lever I, providedwith a catch-bar, J, with each other aml with the hoppers H, frame G,and frame E, substantially as herein shown and described, and for thepurpose set forth.

WILLIAM E. FRIOKE. Witnesses: l

W. '1. FIELDS,

1. B. BURKHARIX

